Member Reviews
Really sad to say I didn’t enjoy this read, it just didn’t hit the mark, and felt all over the place. Such a shame as I really wanted to enjoy it.
This one fell flat for me. It's a community "thriller" where everyone is behaving badly and there is a lot of clear symbolism for how boring married life/the suburbs are. None of the characters are compelling and are instead downright unlikeable. I think the reveals were well done, I just couldn’t get invested in anyone.
A rating for this is hard. It's not that I hated the writing - I just didn't like any of the characters.
The Neighbors We Want is a neighborhood domestic thriller that focuses on Sarah and Adam, who are new parents that are struggling in their marriage, and their neighbor Ali. I had really wanted to enjoy this book; however, there were several reasons why I didn't. To begin with, there isn't really any mystery. From the start, we more-or-less know what has happened or is going to happen. Next, none of the characters are likable and their actions make little sense. I honestly do not know who was my least favorite character because I so thoroughly found them all so confusing. I also found many of the scenes to be strange with unnessary details. Finally, it was an overall very slow read. I had to force myself to keep reading so that I could finish the book. Much of the slow pacing was due to the fact that there wasn't a "thriller" aspect to the book. Again, we knew what was going to happen from the start. The Neighbors We Want just wasn't for me.
The Neighbors We Want by Tim Lane
No matter how many times for a thriller-reader has read about "Neighbors" be the core theme, we still expect something new. Please surprise me! The Neighbors We Want kept me waiting for the twist and the plot that thrilled me. However, I will categorised the fiction towards soap opera rather than a thriller.
Adam lost his job and now he became a full time stayhome father to take care of the nipper. Under this unexpected change, Adam developed a new obsession, which was to "observe" his new young neighbor Ali through the window. Adam noticed Ali's ex-boyfriend was stalking her. Until one day, Ali disappeared...
I found myself difficult to relate to any characters in the story and I guess because of their weird and unwelcoming personalities, especially Ali's ex-boyfriend and his mother...
Thank you Netgalley, Crooked Lane Books and Tim for the opportunity to review this book. I still look forward to his next creation.
Kindle: 272 pages
Pub date: Sep 5, 2023
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
What? The heck? The MC sees a guy urinating on the house across the street within the first few pages. And it didn't get any better than that. This book is a big nope for me. Marketing people, please stop trying to compare to other authors in your publicity campaigns. This is mostly definitely NOT "for fans of Paula Hawkins" or possibly anyone else.
I could not get into or understand this book. I felt like it jumped around A LOT and didn't make sense. I was unable to finish this story.
This book was The Couple Next Door but from a male perspective. I watch a lot of Investigation Discovery and Lifetime so I was not impressed by Adam. We get it Ali is soooo much better then Sarah but Ali is single and childless while Sarah is working hard to put a roof over you and your babies heads. I was not a fan of Adam. I will admit I couldn't put this book down because of all the secrets but I think it would've been better/less creepy from a women's perspective.
How far would you go to save your marriage? Adam and Sarah are having a hard time adjusting to life as new parents and their relationship is falling apart at the seams. Then Ali, the Neighbour Adam has been growing increasingly obsessed with, mysteriously disappears. . . .
An intriguing assortment of interwoven relationships leading them all down a path of deceit and lies as they embark on a search for truth!
I actually really enjoyed this. It was well written and expertly presented from the POVs of the various main characters, allowing us insight into the dangerously disturbed minds of each of them. It did keep me guessing to the end.
Some minor things which brought the star rating down for me : some of the characters were fairly frustrating with their choices and behaviours (almost unbelievably so at times)! Also the synopsis compared this to work by Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) and Paula Hawkins (The Girl on the Train) and I felt it kind of missed the mark with the shocking / thrilling twist , so was a little let down with that. I would have liked a bit more of a shock and awe moment. When it ended I felt sort of ... "oh? was that it?"
However, great writing, interesting plot line, well presented, easy reading. I personally love a multi-POV. I am interested to find more Tim Lane works to read, as this was my first!
Thank You to Netgalley, Crooked Lane Books and Author, Tim Lane for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advance copy to read.
Sadly I did not enjoy this story, I found it laborious and the description didn't quite meet the story.
3.5 rounded up
Told from 4 neighbors points of view. Didn't really relate to any of them but did care enough to what to know what happened. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book
Ohhh how I hate to write bad reviews. I’m usually good at picking out books that I know I’ll enjoy, but I struck out on this one. This is your typical neighborhood thriller, though I must say, there wasn’t much thrill. It took me a few days to get through, because I just wasn’t compelled to keep picking it up.
Adam is the father of infant daughter, Maddie, and the husband of Sarah - a teacher struggling with being a working mom. Adam stays at home with their child and pervs on the young girl across the street. Neither of them seem to be in love with their daughter, and their marriage is a disaster.
Ali is the younger woman who lives across the street from Adam and Sarah. She always undresses in front of him, as he looks into her window. She was dating our next character until things went south…
Kemp, also known as Crispin for no good reason, is Ali’s ex-boyfriend. One night while doing his peeping Tom act, Adam sees Kemp urinate on her house and gets even more possessive of Ali. Kemp also is having an affair with Sarah, Adam’s wife.
Then we have Evie - Sarah’s boss, and Crispin’s mom. She’s the principal of the school that Sarah works at, and aside from that, she really doesn’t need to be in the book.
That’s it. That’s the book - finding out about these boring people and how their lives work when affairs are happening left and right. The characters were all quite pedestrian, there really wasn’t much of a plot, and I guess the ending was fine, but none of it ever came together for me.
This felt like it took ages to get through, because I felt nothing for these people and their lives. There wasn’t really a big thrill, there weren’t any big twists, and it all felt rather random and washed out. Overall, this one just wasn’t for me. 2.5 stars.
(Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, Timothy S. Lane, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on September 5, 2023.)
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!
I do not think I am the best audience for this book. I did not find the authors writing similar to the authors listed in the synopsis (Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins).
While the story started off interesting, I quickly became disgusted with the characters. That may have been the point but I like at least some emotional connection to the characters even if it’s a gritty thriller. 2.5 star rounded down
Adam has recently lost his job and now finds himself a stay at home dad for his new baby Maddie. This new role is a hard adjustment for him and not only that, he finds his relationship with his wife Sarah isn’t going well either. Sarah is having problems of her own, struggling with PPD and juggling her teaching job as well. Adam develops a relationship with his neighbor Ali across the way which starts out innocent but becomes more of an obsession. One night, Adam sees Ali’s ex-boyfriend Crispin lurking outside of her house and is alarmed and concerned when Ali turns up missing the next day. Sarah is not without her own secrets and as the story continues, neither spouse knows who they can trust or where their relationship is headed. This was a twisty read that kept me intrigued throughout the story. I really like the way Lane writes and creates these truly ruthless characters who had me hating them and their selfish ways, but also wanting to know how this story was going to play out. I gave this novel 4 stars.
I was so excited to read this one - it sounded so good, but I was quickly confused and did not enjoy it. This story is told through four main points of view, with the occasional fifth. The characters are all intertwined, but figuring out how is a chore. The book also goes back it time, but you aren't really sure when. I just really struggled with the story and did end up DNFing it about midway. I never did get thriller vibes from it either, maybe a slight mystery but I felt this was more of a domestic story.
As I did not finish the book I will not be reviewing outside of netgalley.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this e-arc. I look forward to the next book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.
This did not work for me. The breakdown of the story was a bit confusing at times, it was hard to piece together the story because the jumps backwards in time seemed to come at random and didn't seem to follow any sort of pattern to prepare the reader for figuring out the puzzle of the story. It also just was hard to follow the story given the fact that there was nobody to root for, all of the characters were unlikeable and the most unlikeable - Adam in my opinion, were the ones we spent the most time with. Overall, it was just not something that I would recommend as a thriller, frankly I'm not even sure what category it does fall under.
Thank you to NetGalley, Tim Lane & Crooked Lane Books for an arc of The Neighbors We Want in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.
“Adam is having a hard time adjusting to the stay-at-home-dad life. The sleepless nights and the constant diaper changing are not what he expected after he was abruptly fired from his job. Then again, Adam wasn’t prepared for his relationship with his wife Sarah to slowly come apart at the seams either. One thing, however, keeps him going—his growing obsession with his neighbor, Ali.
But one night, something changes. While staying up with his baby, instead of seeing Ali in the window across the way, he sees her ex-boyfriend, Crispin, lurking around her house before disappearing within. When Adam hears that Ali doesn’t show up for work the next day, and she doesn’t seem to be home, he fears the worst—that she’s been abducted, or possibly killed. His search for the truth will lead Adam on a path filled with deceit and lies.
Adam knows the answers are lurking somewhere in the shadows of his small suburban town—the trouble is, the truth is hard to find when everyone has something to hide.”
This description immediately made me think of Woman in the Window.
I loved the cover and while not entirely original, was intrigued by the description, but this one, unfortunately, fell short for me.
To use the same word that many others have used, it was extremely weird and not in a good way. Not in a way I enjoy, anyway. The characters were odd, their actions were odd, the story flow was odd. It just wasn’t not at all what I expected. I don’t think anyone would have expected what this story turned out to be. I mean, kudos for catching us all off guard and giving us something we didn’t expect, but it missed the bullseye by a mile. It was almost a DNF for me, but I stuck with it, hoping for something more to happen, but, nope.
I won’t be recommending this one. I’m sorry!
Generously giving 2/5 Stars.
This is such a good read when you just want to be entertained--it is engaging, but it also won't ruin your brain. Very good for vacation and the beach.
You know, I saw a lot of other reviews use the same word to describe this book: weird. I’ll tell you what…I agree. It’s weird. It’s a tad on the uncomfortable side. I’m not sure which genre this really fits into due to the….strangeness of it all. The way it’s put together, the situations the characters are in, the characters themselves. It’s all just very weird and I personally wasn’t a fan. There was no cohesion, nothing for me to appreciate about a well written story. Just not for me.
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC.
This one just wasn't for me. I didn't like any of the characters or the writing style. It was a DNF for me.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a quick read and I enjoyed the different perspectives each chapter. However, this is another book that was too short and would have benefited from more character development. I also felt like there were odd political and racial aspects added to the novel that were unnecessary? It’s as if the author was trying to be quirky or have “click bait” aspects mixed in that ultimately were just poor execution. Story telling makes a great novel and this was lacking.